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 N THE FOOTSTEPS 
 OF CADILLAC.,.. 
 
 BY C. M. BURTON. 
 
 •r 
 
 j. ANTOINE DE LA MOTHE 4. 
 4. CADILLAC. 4. 
 
 DETROIT: 
 WoLVERiNF, Printing Co. 
 
 18i)9 
 
 m.-. 
 

 2?459 
 
 fll3 
 
 
...IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CADILLAC... 
 
 
 An attempt to follow in the foot- 
 steps of Antoine de LaMothe Cadillac, 
 the past summer, has presented to me 
 many objects of interest and has 
 taught me much that I did not before 
 know concerning the founder of the 
 city of Detroit. 
 
 Cadillac came to Mackinac (then 
 Michlllimackinac) as its commandant in 
 1694, and remained in charge of that 
 post for three years. He then return- 
 ed to Quebec and ultimately to Paris 
 where, in the year 1700, he obtained 
 permission to found the city of De- 
 troit. He was well qualified for this 
 task from his previous acquaintance 
 with the country; and from his tem- 
 perament and natural ability no better 
 person could have been chosen to found 
 a colony in the west. There was, up 
 to this time, no French colony further 
 west than Montreal, for all the west- 
 ern posts were military or religious es- 
 tablishments. 
 
 The great object in founding a col- 
 ony was to establish something perma- 
 nent that should serve as a protection 
 for the French traders, and the mis- 
 sionaries among the Indians, and which 
 would prevent the encroachments of 
 the English on the territory which 
 France claimed, but the boundaries of 
 which were not well defined then and 
 which were, in fact, never officially 
 designated. 
 
 Although many explorers and trav- 
 elers had passed through the Lakes 
 Ontario and Erie and around the falls 
 of Niagara, before the year 1701, and 
 that pathway to the northwest was' 
 fairly well known, Cadillac was'' di- 
 rected to take the Ottawa route rather 
 than that of the lakes, on account of 
 the hostility of the Iroquois Indians', 
 who, at this time, were at war with 
 
 the French. The Ottawa route, so-call- 
 ed, was up the Ottawa river from Mon- 
 treal nearly to its source, thence 
 across the long portage to Lake Nipis- 
 sing, thence through Frenchman's riv- 
 er to the Georgian bay and, coasting 
 the bay, in a southerly and westerly 
 direction to Lake Huron, the River St. 
 Clair, and so finally to the Detroit 
 river. This course was long and tedi- 
 ous, for there were some 30 portages 
 where the canoes and the luggage of 
 the company had to be carried on the 
 shoulders of the oarsmen and voyageurs 
 but it was the route that had been 
 traversed for many years by all those 
 Frenchmen who had penetrated into 
 the upper country. 
 
 My desire was to go to Mackinac and 
 by easy stages reverse the footsteps 
 of these voyageurs and pass through 
 the Georgian bay, up Frenchman's river, 
 through Lake Nipissing and down th» 
 Ottawa river to Montreal, but the lim- 
 ited time at my disposal would not 
 permit a trip of this duration, and I 
 planned a route more in consonance 
 with that of established travel through 
 the lakes and down the St. Lawrence. 
 
 The first object of real interest, as 
 connected with Cadillac, is the Wel- 
 land canal. Shortly after Cadillac had 
 established Detroit, a peace with the 
 Iroquois was entered into and the path- 
 way around the falls of Niagara was 
 opened for the second and all the suc- 
 ceeding trips to Detroit, and it is not 
 recorded that the Ottawa route was 
 thereafter ever used for those who 
 came so far south as Detroit. 
 
 Cadillac's Foresisbt. 
 
 In .one of the earliest of Cadillac's re- 
 ports, he^adyocates the building of a 
 canal aroUnd'^Nlagara falls. This was 
 an extraordinary display of foresight. 
 There had. been, a few years before 
 this, a sail vessel, the Griffon, on Lake 
 Erie, but it was wrecked the same 
 
 ..■n' 
 
year it was built and no other sail 
 vessel was ever launched by the French 
 on the upper lakes, nor was there any 
 vessel of considerable size floated on 
 these waters until some years after 
 British occupation. 
 
 The Welland canal of today must 
 have been as far beyond the concep- 
 tion of Cadillac in 1702 as the vessels 
 of today exceed in size the Griffon 
 that LaSalle launched near Buffalo in 
 1679. 
 
 This magnificent canal is a feat of 
 engineering wonderful to the people 
 of today, and I thought, as I wan- 
 dered along its massive stone basins 
 and locks, what the surprise of Cadil- 
 lac would be if he could be, for an 
 instant, permitted to see carried into 
 effect his suggestions or plans of two 
 centuries ago. 
 
 After passing through this canal our 
 boat next went to Toronto and thence 
 to Oswego. Both of these places are 
 full of historic interest but not that 
 of the subject 1 was investigating. The 
 beautiful scenery of the Thousand 
 islands is nearly as wild as it was in 
 Cadillac's time, but the hand of man 
 has changed the aspects of many 
 islands and turned their barrenness 
 and wildness Into bowers of beauty. 
 The rapids of the St. Lawrence com- 
 mence a short distance below Ogdens- 
 burg and continue to Montreal. 
 
 These rapids are in no manner 
 changed from Cadillac's time and are 
 just as dangerous now as when the 
 Frenchmen and Indians of his day 
 braved the waves in their frail canoes. 
 Accidents frequently happened; canoes 
 were upset and their occupants were 
 drowned or barely escaped with their 
 lives; but the people continued to pass 
 down the river by that route rather 
 than walk along the shore and let 
 their boats float at the end of long 
 ropes, which were occasionally used 
 for that purpose. 
 
 The streets of Montreal are an evi- 
 dence of the French ideas of two cen- 
 turies ago. They are narrow, 
 straight and short. The town of Ville 
 Marie, founded by Maisonneuve in 
 1642, is still to be seen in the city of 
 Montreal of today, for the streets are 
 there as they were occupied by those 
 old French habitans, and some of the 
 buildings still remain. 
 
 Montreal is all stone and brick and 
 the massive stone buildings of the 
 
 later times are out of sorts with the 
 narrow streets on which they are 
 erected. 
 
 Church. Attended by Detroit's 
 Founder. 
 
 Here, on St. Paul street, near the 
 river, stands Bonsecour church, the 
 oldest church in Montreal, and here 
 Cadillac and his wife and family went 
 to mass many times, for it was then 
 the only church in Montreal, and 
 Cadillac was a devout catholic. 
 
 The tablet on the church informs ua 
 that the present structure is modem, 
 compared with Cadillac's time, but 
 that its foundation antedates Detroit 
 several years. 
 
 I took a copy of the inscription, 
 which is as follows: 
 
 N. D. Bonsecour. 
 Commencee 1667. Incendiee 175*. 
 
 Keconstrulte 1772. Rttitoreo 1888. 
 
 The Numismatic and Antiquariaii 
 Society of Montreal, some years since, 
 hunted up the points of historical in- 
 terest in the city and erected tablets 
 to indicate the important event or loca- 
 tion of the place. These tablets are 
 fastened up in many places in the 
 older French portion of the city. Some 
 of them are of interest to the people 
 of Detroit as indicating some matters 
 in which our city took a part. As an 
 instance, at the northwest corner of 
 McGill and Notre Dame streets is the 
 following inscription: 
 
 Recollets Gate. 
 
 By this gate 
 
 Amherst took possession. 
 
 8 September 1760. 
 
 Gen. Hull, U. S. Army, 
 
 25 officers, 350 men. entered 
 
 Prisoners of War, 
 
 10 September 1812. 
 
 An inscription of more interest to 
 
 me was that afflxed at the northwest 
 
 corner of St. Lambert and Notre Dame 
 
 streets, as follows: 
 
 In 1694 
 Here stood the house of 
 
 LaMothe Cadillac, 
 The Founder of Detroit. 
 
 This statement Is not exactly true, 
 but it is supported by facts sufHcient 
 to make the assertion reasonably cor- 
 rect. Cadillac did not live In Mon- 
 treal in 1694, but was stationed at 
 Michillimackinac. His wife remained 
 in Montreal until his return there in 
 
1697. He did not own any dwelling, at 
 that time, in Montreal, nor have I 
 been able to find that he ever owned 
 one there. As commandant at Mack- 
 inac he was permitted to engage in 
 trade there and his wife acted as his 
 agent in Montreal in purchasing goods 
 and forwarding them to him for sale 
 to the Indians or traders. At Mon- 
 treal lived LaMothe Luclere, a name- 
 sake and possibly a relative of Cad- 
 illac. This man was an army officer 
 of some prominence who had, a few 
 year before this, at the request of the 
 French government, built a fort at 
 Niagara. He was also governor of 
 Montreal in 1669 and 1670. LaMothe 
 Luclere lived on Notre Dame street 
 in Montreal and Madam Therese 
 Guyon (wife of Cadillac) made her 
 home with him during the absence of 
 her husband at Mackinac. I have not 
 discovered anything to indicate that 
 LaMothe Cadillac and LaMothe Lu- 
 clere were in any way related, but 
 the Identity of the family name, La- 
 Mothe, indicates that they had some 
 cornection with each other. "What lit- 
 tle we know of the life of Madam 
 Cadillac indicates that she was a ca- 
 pable and energetic business woman 
 as well as a brave and affectionate 
 wife. I have copies of many contracts, 
 for various purposes, entered into by 
 her for promoting the interest of her 
 husband, and she borrowed money for 
 him and purchased goods to send to 
 him on many occasions. I do not 
 know what authority the society had 
 for placing this placard at the corner 
 of St. Lambert street, but probably it 
 was the home of LaMothe Luclere, 
 and that Cadillac and his wife tem- 
 porarily lived there. That he once 
 occupied It made it an object of in- 
 terest. 
 Valuable DacTiinents for Detroit. 
 
 There are many other Inscriptions 
 of local interest; some in French and 
 others in English, but no others of 
 local Interest to Detroit, except as 
 they pertain to the hlstoiy of the 
 northwest. 
 
 I visited the Palais de Justice and 
 was permitted to inspect and read the 
 archives in the basement of this great 
 building. Here are collected and pre- 
 served the musty records of two cen- 
 
 turies and a half of Canadian history. 
 I have had a copyist busy for some 
 years transcribing such of these rec- 
 ords as pertain to Detroit and the 
 matter is far from being exhausted 
 yet. The wealth of historical matter 
 in these ancient and yellow documents 
 is unknown to historians, I believe, 
 and I think I am the first person to 
 disclose, in part, their value to the 
 writers and readers of history. Some 
 20 or 30 volumes of these records have 
 already been transcribed for my use 
 and no item later than the year 1760 
 has yet been copied. Dwelling upon 
 the quantity and wealth of these old 
 papers will scarcely convey an idea of 
 their importance, and I can only ex- 
 press my appreciation of them by the 
 word "invaluable." 
 
 Nearly across the street from the 
 Palais de Justice and a block or so 
 further to the east, on the southerly 
 side of Notre Dame street, is situated 
 the Chateau de Ramezay, built for 
 Claude de Ramezay in 1704 or 1705. This 
 building was of great Interest to me 
 and is of so much interest now to the 
 people of Montreal that they have 
 purchased it and retain It In its orig- 
 inal shape as a memorial of old Mont- 
 real. 
 
 Shortly after Detroit was founded 
 Cadillac got into a quarrel with the 
 Company of the Colony of Canada rel- 
 ative to the right to the trade of the 
 new post and. In consequence of the 
 quarrel, he was summoned to Mont- 
 real, where he was detained — not ex- 
 actly placed under arrest, but com- 
 pelled to remain within the limits of 
 the city pending the hearing of the 
 charges preferred against him. At this 
 time Claude de Ramezay was the gov- 
 ernor of Montreal, and, in that capac- 
 ity, Cadillac was subject to his orders 
 and to a certain extent he was in his 
 custody. Ramezay proved himself in 
 many ways to be the friend of his 
 prisoner, giving him personal liberty 
 there and assisting him in his appeal 
 to the authorities at Quebec and in 
 France. Probably he was entertained 
 by Ramezay at this chateau, for at 
 this time the building was just com- 
 pleted or In process of erection. 
 
 Historic Old Castle. 
 
 The building Itself is a marvel of 
 solid masonry, so substantial that the 
 
CHATEAU DB RAMEZAY. MONTREAL, WHERE CADILLAC WAS EN- 
 TERTAINED IN 1704. 
 
 winters of 200 years have disclosed no 
 faults in its construction. I cannot 
 adequately describe its massive walls 
 of stone, its great fireplace in the 
 basement or cuisine, its vaulted wine 
 cellar which seems like a dungeon of 
 some old castle. The building is two 
 stories in height besides the cellar and 
 basement, and the rooms are large. 
 Here for more than a century assem- 
 bled the great men of the nation on 
 important occasions. The successive 
 governors met the Indian chiefs on 
 their visits to the city, receiving them 
 in the great reception room of the 
 chateau. Here in this council room 
 sat many of the noted men of the 
 last century— Ramezay, Vaudreuil, 
 Cadillac, Gen. Amherst, Gen. Gage, 
 Sir Guy Carleton (afterward Lord 
 Dorchester), Benjamin Franklin, 
 Charles Carroll (survivor of the sign- 
 ers of the declaration of independence), 
 Benedict Arnold, the traitor, and many 
 others. 
 
 In February, 1776, congress appoint- 
 ed three commissioners, Benjamin 
 Franklin, Charles Carroll and Samuel 
 Chase, to go to Canada to see if they 
 
 could not enlist the Canadians in the 
 American cause in the war then pend- 
 ing with England. Rev. John Carroll, 
 afterward archbishop of Baltimore, 
 accompanied the expedition. On their 
 arrival at Montreal they were met by 
 Gen. Benedict Arnold. One of the com- 
 missioners, Charles Carroll, on the oc- 
 casion wrote: 
 
 "We supped at that general's and 
 after supper were conducted to our 
 lodgings— the house of Thomas Walk- 
 er—the best built and perhaps the best 
 furnished in this town." 
 
 The "house of Thomas Walker" was 
 at the west end of the Chateau de 
 Ramezay, and here they remained un- 
 til their return to the states. Dr. 
 Franklin, who was old (70 years of 
 age) and infirm, remained but a few 
 days and set out on the 11th of May 
 on his return. Rev. John Carroll 
 started with him. 
 
 It is related that while Franklin was 
 
 stopping in Montreal the first printing 
 
 press there was set up in the basement 
 
 of the chateau under his directions, by 
 
 Joseph Fleury Mesplet, who came to 
 
Montreal with the commissioners. This 
 may have been a fact, for it is certain 
 that at about this time the first press 
 was brought to Montreal, but the lim- 
 ited time of Franklin's visit would not 
 permit him to give Mesplot many les- 
 sons In printing. However, the first 
 newspaper there, the Gazette du Com- 
 merce et Litteraire, pour la Ville et 
 District de Montreal, was published by 
 Charles P. Mesplet and C. Berger on 
 June 3 in the following year. 
 
 Q.nebeo in Cadillac's Time. 
 
 Quebec, the next place of import- 
 ance that attracts our attention, is 
 more like the ancient French cities 
 than is Montreal. Not only do its nar- 
 row streets indicate its age, but Its 
 very people seem to live in last cen- 
 tury. In an estimated population of 
 75,000 I understand that only 5,000 are 
 Protestants and only the latter num- 
 ber speak the English language. Many 
 of the French people are able to speak 
 both languages, but this knowledge is 
 confined to merchants and clerks and 
 those carrying on a business that 
 brings them into contact with both 
 nationalities. 
 
 The streets are exceedingly narrow 
 in the lower town — the older part. 
 Nearly all of the buildings here were 
 destroyed or seriously injured by the 
 bombardment of Gen. Wolfe in 1759, 
 but they were reconstructed on their 
 old foundations and the streets were 
 neither straightened nor widened. The 
 electric cars, recently introduced, 
 nearly monopolize many of the streets, 
 for there was scarcely room for two 
 vehicles to pass, before, and the new 
 car line is placed in the center of the 
 street, so now the car must wait for 
 teams to move along to the next cross- 
 ing before it can proceed. 
 
 Some of the streets are so narrow 
 that only one team can pass at a 
 time — 10 to 12 feet in width— and here 
 are huddled a multitude of women and 
 children, living in apartments over the 
 stores they own. The street is not 
 wide enough for a walk beside the 
 dri^ eway and the people must neces- 
 sarily go into the street to walk. 
 
 This is the city of Quebec, as it was 
 in Cadillac's time, for here his wife 
 lived with her father, Denys Guyon, 
 and her brothers, after the father's 
 death, in a stone house on St. Pierre 
 
 stiect in Lower Town. In this town 
 Cadillac and Marie Therese Guyon 
 were married on the 25th of June, 1687, 
 and here they lived for some time 
 then, and at a later date. 
 
 Cadillac was in the marine depart- 
 ment and was stationed on the hill 
 that overlooks the city, probably the 
 present site of the Chateau Frontenac, 
 or possibly even further up at the 
 citadel. When the evening came and 
 he was released from his duties he, 
 with others, was accustomed to wan- 
 der down the long winding roadway 
 of the hill reaching to Lower Town to 
 visit the places of amusement, or pos- 
 sibly the 16-year-old girl who became 
 Madam Cadillac in 1687. 
 
 An episode in the life of the founder 
 is related in the unpublished records 
 of that time as follows: 
 
 Detroit's Founder in a Brawl. 
 
 On Thursday, May 2, 1686. Cadillac, 
 then a lieutenant of the company of 
 Sieur de Vallereinies, got into a quar- 
 rel with Sieur de Sabrevoye, sub-lieu- 
 tenant of the Company of Desquerac 
 at the house of the widow of Pierre 
 Pellerin, Sieur de St. Amant, on St. 
 Pierre street, in Lower Town, where 
 Cadillac had called early in the even- 
 ing and had been invited to have a 
 glass with the assembly. 
 
 The quarrel arose over some reflec- 
 tions of Cadillac regarding the habits 
 of Sabrevoye, and on the fact that 
 Sabrevoye was supported by the Mar- 
 quis Denonville, governor and lieu- 
 tenant-general for the king. In the 
 melee Cadillac threatened to thrash 
 Sabrevoye; both men attempted to 
 draw their swords, but the bystanders 
 threw themselves between them and 
 prevented the duel, whereupon Cadil- 
 lac took up the copper candlestick, 
 which was on the table, and threw it 
 at the head of Sabrevoye, wounding ■ 
 him and extinguishing the light. La- 
 Perelle, a sub-lieutenant, and Sieur 
 Declavaux, who were present, ejected 
 Cadillac from the house. 
 
 Cadillac was very much frightened 
 for if news of the event came to the 
 ears of the marquis it would probably 
 end in his ruin. He was summoned 
 before the recorder of the marshal's 
 court. A great amount of testimony 
 was taken in the case and all reduced 
 to writing and is still preserved. The 
 
governor went from house to house 
 summoning the witnesses before him 
 and himself questioned each one re- 
 garding the quarrel, its origin, prog- 
 ress and result. Sabrevoye's wound 
 was not serious and the affair was 
 patched up and Cadillac was released. 
 ^A'hen Cadillac was commandant at 
 Detroit, some years later, Sabrevoye 
 came here to live and remained for 
 seme years. 
 
 In a little square, nearly under the 
 Chateau Frontenac, the grand hotel 
 of Quebec, stands a small church call- 
 ed Notre Dame des Victoires. This 
 was first erected in 1688, but has since 
 been reconstructed and is now of a 
 modern form, but is still on its ancient 
 foundation. 
 
 Cadillac was not married in this 
 church, for it was erected the year 
 succeeding his marriage, but probably 
 within its doors some of his children 
 were baptized, for his son Antoine was 
 born in Quebec in 1692. James was 
 born there in 1695. Peter Denis was 
 born there June 13, 1699, and was bur- 
 ied there July 4, 1700. Marie Ann 
 was born in Quebec, June 7, and died 
 June 9, 1701, and Rene Louis, who was 
 born in Detroit, died in Quebec in 1714, 
 so that around this church some of the 
 most interesting events in the life of 
 Cadillac are clustered. 
 
 Concerning this church Phileas Gag- 
 non, probably the best historical au- 
 thority in Quebec, recently wrote to 
 me: "The church of Notre Dame de la 
 Victoire is and has been the only 
 church built in the lower town of this 
 city. It stands on what was called In 
 
 1687 'Place Royal,' on account of a 
 bronze bust of Douis XIV., erected 
 there that year by Bochart Cham- 
 pigny. This church was erected In 
 
 1688 but it was not called Notre Dame 
 de la Victoire until 1690. In that year 
 amid the joy caused by the defeat of 
 Sir William Phipps, in his attempt to 
 capture the town of Quebec, the feast 
 of Notre Dame de la Victoire was es- 
 tablished, to be annually celebrated in 
 this church on the 7th of October— 
 that being the day on which the first 
 intelligence of the coming of the Eng- 
 lish was received. After the shipwreck 
 of the English fleet in 1711, which was 
 considered by the inhabitants as a sec- 
 
 ond victory, and little less than a mi- 
 raculous interposition in their favor, 
 the church received the name of Notre 
 Dame des Victoires, in order to com- 
 memorate both occasions at the same 
 time." 
 
 Within the present church, on the 
 wall facing the pulpit is a marble slab 
 with an inscription to indicate the 
 principal events in the history of the 
 church, as follows: 
 1688 lei Mai. Pose de la 1 ere 
 Dierre par le Marquis 
 de Denonville gouverneur 
 Innocent XI Pape 
 Louis XIV Roi de France 
 L'Egrlise est dediee a 
 I'enfant Jesus. 
 
 1690 Defait de I'armee Phipps 
 reglise prend le titre de N. D. 
 de la Victoire 
 1711 Dispersion de la flotte de 
 I'armee Walker, I'eglise 
 prend le titre de N. D. des Victoires 
 1759 Incendise pendant le siege 
 1765 Rebatie 
 1888 Restoree a 1' occasion 
 du 2€ine centaire 
 
 Across the street from this church is 
 the Hotel Blanchard, which, I was in- 
 formed, is built on the site of a con- 
 vent which was established in the 
 seventeenth century. In this convent 
 Madam Cadillac placed her eldest 
 daughter Magdelaine, when she set out 
 for Detroit in the summer of 1701. 
 
 Cadillac had reached the site of De- 
 troit and laid the foundation for the 
 new post on the 24th day of July, 1701. 
 He brought with him his eldest son, 
 Antoine, then a youth of some 9 years 
 of age. His living children at this 
 time, besides his son Antoine, were his 
 eldest daughter, Magdelaine, and his 
 son Jacques. Two other children, 
 Pierre Denis and Marie Anne, had died 
 in Quebec. The latter, Marie Anne, 
 died after her father had left that 
 city to go west. 
 
 Fr. Anjabran (or Enjabran), a Jesuit 
 priest, and I believe the only Jesuit 
 who was friendly to Cadillac, was re- 
 quested to escort Madam Cadillac and 
 Madam Tonty, wife of Cadillac's lieu- 
 tenant, Alphonse Tonty, to Detroit, 
 but he found it impossible to comply 
 with the request, However, through 
 
his report we are enabled to determine 
 that Madam Cadillac, leaving her 
 daughter Magdelaine in the convent 
 above mentioned, started from Quebec 
 with her son Jacques, then 6 years of 
 age, and reached Three Rivers, 
 about half way between Quebec and 
 Montreal, on the 30th of August, 1701. 
 On the 10th of September they reach- 
 ed and departed from Montreal, and 
 arrived at Port Frontenac (now Kings- 
 ton) on the 23d of September. The 
 lateness of the season prevented fur- 
 
 ther progress of the party, for there 
 was no stopping place between Fort 
 Frontenac and Detroit, so the party 
 remained at the fort during the win- 
 ter months and resumed their journey 
 as early as possible and reached De- 
 troit in the early spring of 1702. 
 
 In the archives of the French ca- 
 thedral is to be found the register in 
 use at the time of Cadillac's marriage, 
 and I have had the marriage record 
 photographed and reproduce it here 
 as of general interest to all our people: 
 
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 COPY OF CADILLAC'S MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE FOUND IN CANA- 
 DIAN ARCHIVES. 
 
(TRANSLATION.) 
 The 25th of the monih of June, in the 
 year 16S7, after the betrothment and the 
 publication of two bans of marriage, hav- 
 ing obtained dispensation of the third of 
 Monsieur de Bernieres, vicar-general cf the 
 Lord Bishop of Quebec, the flrst being pub- 
 lished the 22d and the second the 24th of 
 the present month, between Antoine de La- 
 mothe, esquire, sieur de Cadillac of the 
 village of Port Royal in Acadia, aged about 
 26 years, son of Mr. Jean de la Mothe, 
 sieur of the place called Cadillac of Launay 
 and Semontel, counsellor of the parliament 
 of Toulouse, and of Madam Jeanne de 
 Malenfant, his father and mother, of the 
 one part; and of Marie Thereze Guyon, 
 daughter of the deceased Denis Guyon, a 
 citizen of this place, and Elizabeth Bou- 
 cher, her father and mother, of ihe other 
 part, aged about 17 years, and not finding 
 any hindrance, I, Francois Dupre, cure of 
 this parish, have solemnly married and 
 given the nuptial benediction in the pres- 
 ence of the subscribing witnesses, sieurs 
 Barthelemi Desmarest, Michel Denys Guy- 
 on, Jacques Guyon, Denys le Maitre, who 
 have signed with the husband and wife. 
 
 LAMOTHE LAUNAY. 
 
 MARIE THERESE GUYON. 
 
 JACQUES GUION. 
 
 MICHEL GUION. 
 
 DENIS LE MAITRE. 
 DEMAREST. 
 FRANCOIS DUPRE. 
 
 The above named priest, Francois 
 Dupre, came to Canada May 28, 1673. 
 In 1675 he was a missionary in the 
 Quebec seminary; first cure of the 
 parish of Champlain in 16S4, and cure 
 of the parish of Quebec from 1686 till 
 1707. In 1711 he was at Lorette, where 
 he died and was buried under the al- 
 tar June 29, 1720. 
 
 I could not ascertain the house on 
 St. Pierre street in which Cadillac ana 
 his wife lived while in Quebec, but 
 a further investigation of the titles to 
 lots in the lower town may give me 
 its location. 
 
 Outward bound from Quebec on an 
 ocean steamer I passed through the 
 River St. Lawrence, past the falls of 
 Montmorency and down the gulf, hug- 
 ging the southern shore, which is dot- 
 ted with the little hamlets of fisher- 
 men, whose ancestors took up this oc- 
 cupation centuries ago and whose de- 
 scendants will probably continue it for 
 centuries to come. The scenery along 
 
 this coast is grand, and beyond the 
 power of my pen to adequately de- 
 scribe. 
 
 After a few days' sail I reached 
 Charlottetown, in Prince Edward 
 Island, and now began to feel that I 
 was in America, for here everyone 
 speaks English, and French is appar- 
 ently unknown. From Charlottetown 
 a ride of a few hours on a great ferry 
 steamer takes us to Pictou in Nova 
 Scotia. 
 
 Pictou is a small place and can be 
 fitly described as "over-ripe," for it 
 has reached the zenith of its prosperity 
 and is sinking to decay. From Pictou 
 the railroad carried me south across 
 the isthmus to Halifax. The country 
 is beautiful, but as this portion was 
 unknown to the French or uninhabited 
 by them I did not take so great an 
 interest in either Charlottetown, Pic- 
 tou or Halifax. 
 
 After a short stay in Halifax I again 
 took the train across the isthmus in a 
 northwesterly direction to Annapolis 
 Royal. This Is the land of Evangeline. 
 Longfellow has appropriately de- 
 scribed this country: 
 This is the forest primeval, the murmuring 
 
 pines and the hemlocks. 
 Bearded with moss, and in garments green, 
 
 indistinct in the twilight, 
 Stand like Druids of Eld, with voices sad 
 
 and prophetic, 
 Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that 
 
 rest on their bosoms. 
 I never saw a country, on the 1st of 
 September, so green and pretty as this 
 country is. In the states the verdure 
 is burned and yellow from the hot days 
 of July and August, but here the trees 
 and shrubs and grass are as green and 
 fresh as if the winter snows had but 
 recently melted and the April showers 
 had given fresh life and vigor to all 
 nature. 
 
 On through Grand Pre and along the 
 shores of the basin of MInas, where 
 Evangeline and her lover lived, skirt- 
 ing the waters of the bay, through 
 beautiful and quiet scenery, our train 
 of some 20 cars, heavily laden with 
 passengers, draws up at Annapolis, 
 the end of its journey. A great excur- 
 sion of country folks on the Intercolo- 
 nial line were returning from a day 
 spent in Halifax and the cars were 
 
crowded with passengers and filled 
 with the merry laughter of the young 
 folics. 
 
 Nova Scotia was originally covered 
 with evergreens, pine, hemlock, juni- 
 per, cedar and spruce trees. On the 
 cultivated portions these evergreens 
 have been cleared off except an occa- 
 sional tree or shrub, but there are 
 thousands of acres on which the origi- 
 nal forests are still standing as green 
 as on the day Champlain first visited 
 the country. The picture that Long- 
 fellow draws of Evangeline's home is 
 perfect, except that the pine trees and 
 other timber seem to be of a dwarf 
 variety and not the stately pines of 
 Michigan. 
 
 It is but a short distance from Grand 
 
 Pre to Annapolis and the country is of 
 
 that same beautiful green that one 
 
 sees everywhere in Nova Scotia. 
 
 Historic Old Port Royal. 
 
 Annapolis was my destination and a 
 longer stop than usual was made at 
 this poin*, for it was full of interest 
 to me of a period that antedates Evan- 
 geline by half a century. It was called 
 Port Royal by the French and was the 
 m.ost important of their early settle- 
 ments in America, for it was occupied 
 by them as early as 1605. The posses- 
 sion of the place passed from Prance 
 to England and was again returned 
 to France several times before its final 
 cession to England in 1718. 
 
 A fort was e.'ected in 1605, which was 
 probably enlarged and improved as 
 time passed on. This fort is still in 
 existence, or rather the earthwork.s 
 and some of the stone buildings still 
 remain, though it is no longer used for 
 military purposes. The fort grounds 
 cover some 30 acres of land and the 
 earthworks cover a goodly portion of 
 that ground. The embankments are 
 s'till nearly intact, and show that an 
 immense amount of work was done to 
 carry the dirt that forms these grreat 
 earthworks, for the French had no 
 horses or caittle with which to do this 
 work, and the earth was carried from 
 a distance on the backs of Indian wo- 
 m.en. The great piles of earth show 
 that this was the work of years. The 
 sand in one place, at a comer of the 
 fort, threatened to slide in and thus 
 destroy the corner, and a stone wall 
 was created to hold it in place. The 
 
 wall remains as it was built, without 
 mortar; insld'e this wall and close 
 against it are two huge willows, brought 
 from France, of a specie not found in 
 America. These willows are now at 
 least four feet in diameter, showing 
 that they must have been set ouit here 
 250 years ago. At the northwest cor- 
 ner of the fort, and on the interior, 
 is what is locally termed the "Black 
 Hole." It Is supposed that it was in- 
 tended as a prison for refractory sol- 
 diers or Indians. It is not large enough 
 to hold more than a dozen or 20 people 
 at once, and it is more likely that it 
 was intended as a small powder maga- 
 ine, or else to hold the arms of the sol- 
 diers. On the western side anxi about 
 m.idway down the curtain is the sally 
 port. This looks towrard Annapolis 
 basin. The m.asonry is as old as the 
 earthworks, and seems likely to be 
 able to withstand the ravages of time 
 for many centuries. 
 
 Q,neer PoTvder Mag-a^ine. 
 
 The most interestmg object in the fort 
 is the powder magazine in the south- 
 west corner. This magazine is 15 by 20 
 feet on the interior and 30 by 36 feet 
 on the exterior— showing that the walls 
 are 6 to 7% feet in thickness. 
 
 The building is constructed of a specie 
 of limestone brought from Normandy 
 and is unlike any stone found in this 
 part of the country. The masonry is 
 exceedingly substantial and the mor- 
 tar in which the stone was laid 250 
 years ago shows no sign of breaking 
 in the interior. The arched roof is 
 made without the aid of a keystone, 
 and the cement is so strong that the 
 necessity of one was not felt. Witb a 
 fort as substantial as this was and 
 an adequate supply of men and mu- 
 nitions of war the French could have 
 withstood an army of Englishmen. 
 
 Behind the fort, and to the souith of 
 it. were clustered the dwellings of the 
 people of Port Royal, a small village, 
 for although there were some 500 or 600 
 people in the settlement around the 
 fort, they were scattered over ithe sur- 
 rounding farming lands for many miles. 
 The country had been so long occu- 
 pied by them that they had no fear of 
 the Indians, and they thought they 
 were prepured for incursions from the 
 English. 
 
Annapolis basin is a long bay set- 
 ting in from the Bay of Fundy, some 
 20 or 25 miles, and it is at the eastern 
 extremity of this basin that the fort 
 was erected. The entrance from the 
 bay to the basin is much narrower 
 than the basin is after that point is 
 passed. Midway along the basin is 
 Goat island. The water in the basin 
 is of sufficient depth to float the larg- 
 est vessels, for the tide rises 25 to 30 
 feet at the eastern extremity of the 
 basin, and the tide in the Bay of 
 Fundy, the highest in the world, rises 
 over 50 feet. 
 
 CafllUac's Home Bnrned by tbe 
 British. 
 
 In 1690 Cadillac lived in Port Royal 
 and owned a house In the village there. 
 In 1689 war had broken out between 
 France and England over the expul- 
 sion of King Jajnes II. by England, 
 and the harboring of him by Louis 
 XIV. of France, and the warfare was 
 to be carried on in America, as well as 
 In Europe. When this war was de- 
 clared Cadillac was residing on Mount 
 Desert Island, which he owned, but he 
 removed his family to Port Royal, 
 probably for better security, and pur- 
 chased a dwelling for them behind the 
 fort. 
 
 He was probably engaged with the 
 urcle of his wife, Francois Guyon, on 
 shipboard, looking out for English 
 vessels that they might capture or de- 
 stroy, and spent but little time with 
 his family at the fort. At that time 
 the only child that Cadillac had, of 
 which we have any record, was Mag- 
 delaine, who was born either on Mount 
 Desert island or at Port Royal. 
 
 Sir William Phipps, governor of 
 Massachusetts, had been Instructed by 
 his government to take such part in 
 tho war with France as he might be 
 able, both to protect the English set- 
 tlements in America and to inflict all 
 possible injury on the French. With 
 this end in view he set out in April, 
 1690. to achieve something for the glory 
 of England and the discomfiture of 
 France. Sailing into Annapolis basin 
 In the latter part of May, he took the 
 place by surprise, and it was obliged 
 to surrender to him without offering 
 any resistance. 
 
 While the lives of the citizens were 
 spared their houses were plundered 
 and some of them, Cadillac's among 
 
 the number, were burned. The parish 
 church was destroyed and the priests, 
 Petit and Trouve, with some 38 sol- 
 diers were carried prisoners to Bos- 
 ton. 
 
 Cadillac's family, burned out, started 
 to return to Quebec, were taken pris- 
 oners by the English, but were re- 
 leased as nan-combatants, and proceed- 
 ed home. Mount Desert island, which 
 belonged to Cadillac, and on which he 
 resided in 1689, is on the coast of 
 Maine; Cadillac's possessions not only 
 ir eluded this island, but several thou- 
 sand acres of the adjacent mainland, 
 including the modern Bar Harbor. 
 
 I have been unable to ascertain why 
 this valuable and extensive tract was 
 given to Cadillac, for he had not ac- 
 complished much at this time to war- 
 rant the government in making the 
 gift. It Is possible that his work on 
 the ocean was better known than the 
 records seem to indicate now, and that 
 this land was given in compensation 
 for that work. 
 
 He was familiar with the entire coast 
 line and one of the earliest French 
 maps of Boston, as well as one of the 
 earliest maps of New York, both made 
 by Franquelin, bear the mark of ap- 
 proval of Cadillac. At a later period 
 and during the war he accompanied 
 an expedition to New York, or Man- 
 athe, as he calls it, intending to attack 
 that place by water; but the plan 
 failed for want of concert between the 
 land and naval forces. 
 
 Jealousy of tbe French. 
 
 While my visit to Boston and Cam- 
 bridge, with their great libraries so 
 full of historical matters of those early 
 days, and the great Lenox. Astor and 
 Tilden libraries of New York, were 
 of exceeding interest to me in these 
 studies, the memory and name of Cad- 
 illac is to be found only in the old 
 records. Nothing remains now as it 
 was in his day. 
 
 A trip up the Hudson is beautiful 
 and interesting, but far more interest- 
 ing to me were two old documents I 
 found in archives in the great state 
 capitol at Albany. As preliminary to 
 the introduction of these papers I 
 would state that shortly after Cadillac 
 reached the site of Detroit the Eng- 
 lish, at a treaty meeting with the Iro- 
 
OLD POWDER MAGAZIMF, AT ANNAPOLIS. 
 
 quois Indians, obtained from these In- 
 dians a deed of all the land in the 
 west as far as Chicago, and including 
 the present Detroit. This deed has 
 been printed several times and can be 
 found in extenso in volume 4. page 908, 
 of the "New York Colonial Manu- 
 scripts." It is dated July 19, 1701, but 
 the difference in computation of time 
 between protestant and catholic coun- 
 tries makes this, in the French calen- 
 dar, July 29, or four days after Cadil- 
 lac arrived at Detroit. In this deed 
 Detroit is called Tjeughsaghrondie 
 (this name can be spelled some 70 dif- 
 ferent ways), and Lake Brie is called 
 Swege. 
 
 The proposed erection of the fort at 
 Detroit was evidently known to the 
 Iroquois some time before Cadillac se- 
 lected its site, and both the Indians 
 south of the great lakes and the Eng- 
 lish were excited over it and proposed 
 to stop it if possible. It was at this 
 time and in this situation of affairs 
 that the two documents I have found 
 were written, and they fully explain 
 themselves. 
 
 Robert Livingston was secretary of 
 Indian affairs and John Nanfan was 
 lieutenant-governor. 
 
 The papers have, I believe, never 
 been printed, and I give them in full: 
 Report of Laurence Clease 
 ye interpreter come from 
 Onnandago ye 10th. of Octob 
 1701 in Albany. 
 Pursuant to the instructions 
 given me the 5th. instant I went to 
 Onnandago where 1 found ye Sa- 
 chims of ye Sinnekes. Cayugas 
 and Onnandagos convind, who 
 had bolts sent them from ye Magruasa 
 and Oneydes, they asked me if Quidor 
 was come according to their desire, I 
 told them no, and that he had great 
 inclination to come but ye season of 
 ye year would not admitt it, there 
 being dayly much rain and cold 
 weather to be expected. 
 Then they asked me if ye 
 Secretary. Mr. Livingston, was gon 
 to England according to their ear- 
 nest request made in ye publike 
 propositions when they were Last at 
 Albany to acquaint the King how 
 ye French incroached upon their 
 Country for they had not only made 
 a fort at TJughsaghronie, but 
 have, since ye Sachims were last 
 at Albany, made two trading 
 houses on this side of ye Lake hard 
 by ye Sinnekes at ye two principall 
 Places where our Indians must pass 
 by. when they come from hunting, 
 and have brought thither all sorts 
 Of Indian goods, one of ye Places 
 
Is called Dekana Sachtlago. and 
 the other Tenchjuchjago, we 
 fear if the Secretary does not 
 goe who knows all our affairs 
 that Letters will not be regarded 
 and then we shall Loose our 
 country and our hunting and those 
 of Albany will Loose their Trade 
 for we see ye french are a diligent 
 People— always in action but ye 
 People of Albany are as if they 
 were Lame or Criple, goe no 
 where to Trade to no Indians 
 The French are passed by to ye Fort 
 which they have made this Summer 
 and have a french woman in each 
 Canoe, but, we see not that Corlair 
 does any thing. 
 I answered that ye Secretary 
 ■was gone, upon which they 
 said, are the leters gone, I told ym 
 I did not know. 
 I told them further yt 
 I was come upon their message which 
 they sent to Albany, concerning 
 their Resolution to send Agents 
 to make Peace with ye Davaganhads 
 and other farr Indians at Tjugh- 
 Saehrondie and yt I had a great 
 bolt from Corcair to send wil ym 
 to confirm ye Peace and to assure 
 ye farr Indians that they should 
 be welcome to come to Albany and 
 well Treated where they would find 
 Koods cheaper than at Canada 
 The Sachims were well 
 satisfied and took ye bolt sent 
 bv Corlair, and said they had not 
 only concluded to make Peace with ye 
 farr Indians, at Tjughsaghrondie (ac 
 cording to their desire signified to ym 
 bv a Sinneka Prisoner whom they had 
 released and sent to ye 5 nations for yt 
 purpose) but have sent ye Prisoners 
 of ye farr Indians away before with 
 some Indians to acquaint ye Dowagan- 
 haes that they were a Comoing to 
 make peace with them at Tjughsagh- 
 rondie, in which Peace our Brother Corlair 
 shall be Included, and we will make one ar- 
 ticle that they come and trade at Albany 
 for which the Path shall be open and clean. 
 Concerning ye bad news that the 
 messenger said was at Onnandago the 
 matter is this, a rumour is spread among 
 
 the 
 Indians that DeScannisson, and another 
 
 when 
 he was Last at N. Yorke should betray the 
 five nations to ye governour of N. Yorke to 
 be Destroyd and that he should have done 
 
 ye same to ye governour of Canada, giving 
 a Bolt to each governour and that this 
 story should come from Kendrik ye Ma- 
 
 guass 
 who should have said it to Aqueenders and 
 ye DeKanissord has sent a post to the 
 Governour of Canada to free himself of this 
 imputation. 
 
 When I came back I asked Ken- 
 drik ye Indian and Aqueenders but they 
 know nothing of ye matter, being a notorius 
 lye, however It hath made a great stirr 
 among ye Indians in this country 
 I found ye Indians at Onnan- 
 dago very much divided in two 
 factions, ye one for ye Fnglish 
 the other ye French, but I 
 believe those that are for 
 for this government are ye 
 strongest and those Sachims 
 that are of our side desire 
 me that I would tell Corlair 
 and Quinder yt it was their desire 
 yt a messenger be sent to Canada 
 to forbidd the Governour of yt 
 Place to make such trading house 
 on their Ground for those trading 
 houses would be soon converted 
 Into Forts. 
 
 LAURENCE CLEASE. 
 
 Another Note of Alarm. 
 
 To the Hon. John Nanfan Esq. 
 
 Lieut. Gov. and Commander in Chief 
 
 of ve Province of N. Yorke &c. 
 The humble Memoriall of Rt. Livingston 
 
 Sec for yr Indian Affairs showeth 
 
 How that he has been lately at Albany to 
 Enquir 
 
 into ye state of ye Indians of ye five na- 
 tions who 
 
 he finds by ye interpreter lately come from 
 them 
 
 that they are very much divided among 
 themselves by 
 
 a french faction among them as by ye said 
 
 Interpreter's report under his hand ap- 
 pears. 
 
 That ye French of Canada have not only 
 built a new fort 
 
 this summer at Tjughsaghrondie between 
 ye lake 
 
 of Sweege and Ottowawa the principall 
 nlace 
 
 of Bever hunting, but have lately built 
 two trading houses 
 
 on this side of ye lake near ye Sinnekes 
 and 
 
 stored them with all sorts of Indian goods. 
 He doth 
 
 therefore offer it as his opinion for the 
 expelling of french 
 
^rom his Majst territories and preventing 
 
 of the like 
 Incroachments for the future that a party 
 
 of men be sent 
 forthwith to destroy ye said Trading 
 
 Houses save the 
 Koods and distribute them among the In- 
 dians and discharge 
 ye French from settling on this side of 
 
 ve lake 
 That Lawrence ye Interpreter be sent with 
 
 some of 
 or such as your honr. Shal think fitt as far 
 as Tjughsaghrondie out a hunting with 
 
 some of 
 our Indians to make a discovery of what 
 
 the French 
 are a doing, what fort they have made, 
 
 what 
 treaties they have agreed to with ye farr 
 Indians, havn our Indians conclude their 
 
 ceace with 
 ye said far Indians and on what terms, 
 
 and withal to 
 endevor to bring some of ye farr Indians to 
 Albany to trade, » • * 
 
 October 20, 1701. 
 
 ROBT. LIVINGSTON. 
 
 Thus I completed my first, but I sin- 
 cerely hope not my last, journey in the 
 footsteps of Cadillac. 
 
 C. M. BURTON. 
 September, 1898. 
 
 LANDING OP CADILLAC. 
 
 Historic Event That Might Be 
 Commemorated. 
 
 Among the many suggestions for the 
 proposed bicentenary of the founding 
 of Detroit, little has been advanced 
 that might be considered ijersonal to 
 the illustrious Frenchman, who with 
 his band of hardy adventurers on the 
 23d day of July, 1701, landed where 
 the city of Detroit now stands. 
 
 In Robert B. Ross's work, "The 
 Landmarks of Wayne County and De- 
 troit," the first chapter is devoted ex- 
 clusively to a graphic pen picture of 
 this historical incident. A brief re- 
 sume of the chapter may prove sug- 
 gestive to the committee in charge of 
 the program of exercises. 
 
 On June 5, 1701, the Cadillac expe- 
 dition started from La Chine, above 
 Montreal, and entered the Ottawa 
 river. They threaded the windings of 
 that stream for over 300 leagues, mak- 
 
 ing 30 portages,. The remainder of 
 the route was down French river to 
 Lake Huron. The party crossed the 
 lake and landed where Gonsolus Du- 
 luth had in 1687 built a fort, burned by 
 the Indians two years later. They 
 passed down St. Clair river and lake, 
 and entered the Detroit river late in 
 the afternoon, having accomplished a 
 voyage of over 1,000 miles In 40 days. 
 
 The expedition was a ponderous one 
 for those days. There were 25 large 
 canoes, or bateaux, in which were 100 
 white men. These boats were 26 feet 
 long by 6 feet beam, having each two 
 tons burden. One hundred Algonquin 
 warriors in birchbark canoes, consti- 
 tuted the escort to the white voyag- 
 ers. Silently they rounded the head of 
 Belle Isle and glided down the river. 
 No notice was given of their approach. 
 They were entering upon the choice 
 hunting grounds of the cruel and 
 tieacherous Iroquois. 
 
 Cadillac, with an eye to the future, 
 was looking for a site on which to 
 establish a fort and trading post. Half 
 of the men he had with him were sol- 
 diers, while the rest were farmers and 
 mechanics. The view and situation 
 of Belle Isle decided Cadillac. It re- 
 minded him of Isle Royal, where Paris 
 was first built. 
 
 The evening meal was prepared and, 
 after religious exercises by two priests, 
 the weary travelers, without molesta- 
 tion, sought the needed repose. The 
 following morning, after early mass, 
 Cadillac raised the white banner with 
 its three lilies, and in the name of 
 Lcuis XIV. proclaimed the land a 
 French possession. Among the first 
 buildings erected was the rustic 
 church, dedicated to Ste. Anne. 
 
 V.hile Cadillac and his brave band 
 had been threading the windings of 
 the Ottawa, the Iroquois chiefs, 
 knowing the purpose of his voyage, 
 had held a council with the British 
 authorities in New York, the result 
 of which was the ceding and convey- 
 ing to William III. of England all 
 their right and title to lands in the 
 northwest, including the straits of De- 
 troit. They had previously protested 
 to Cadillac against the establishing of 
 a fort at Detroit, but he had replied 
 that all that territory belonged to 
 the French king, his master. Incensed, 
 they made terms with the English. 
 
As a matter of fact, the Iroquois 
 chiefs had signed the conveyances to 
 the British governor just five days be- 
 fore Cadillac landed at Detroit. 
 
 At first the Intention was to found 
 the post on Grosse Isle, but, turning 
 their boats up stream again, the party 
 landed near where the first French 
 fort was built. 
 
 Ceuld not this great episode in the 
 
 history of Detroit be made a promi- 
 nent feature of the coming bicenten- 
 ary? What a pageant could be given 
 on the river, with a reproduction of 
 the fleet of Cadillac, bateaux, canoes, 
 soldiers, habitants, Indians, etc. 
 
 J. W. F. M. 
 
MAR 6 )899 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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